smoke vi.
1. To crash or blow up, usually
spectacularly. "The new version smoked, just like the last one."
Used for both hardware (where it often describes an actual
physical event), and software (where it's merely colorful). 2.
[from automotive slang] To be conspicuously fast. "That processor
really smokes." Compare magic
smoke.
Node:smoke and mirrors,
Next:smoke test,
Previous:smoke, Up:= S =
smoke and mirrors n.
Marketing deceptions. The term is mainstream in this general
sense. Among hackers it's strongly associated with bogus demos
and crocked benchmarks (see also
MIPS, machoflops). "They claim their new box
cranks 50 MIPS for under $5000, but didn't specify the
instruction mix -- sounds like smoke and mirrors to me." The
phrase, popularized by newspaper columnist Jimmy Breslin c.1975,
has been said to derive from carnie slang for magic acts and
`freak show' displays that depend on `trompe l'oeil' effects, but
also calls to mind the fierce Aztec god Tezcatlipoca (lit.
"Smoking Mirror") for whom the hearts of huge numbers of human
sacrificial victims were regularly cut out. Upon hearing about a
rigged demo or yet another round of fantasy-based marketing
promises, hackers often feel analogously disheartened. See also
stealth manager.
Node:smoke test, Next:smoking clover, Previous:smoke and mirrors,
Up:= S =
smoke test n.
1. A rudimentary form of testing applied to electronic
equipment following repair or reconfiguration, in which power is
applied and the tester checks for sparks, smoke, or other
dramatic signs of fundamental failure. See magic smoke. 2. By extension, the first
run of a piece of software after construction or a critical
change. See and compare reality
check.
There is an interesting semi-parallel to this term among
typographers and printers: When new typefaces are being punch-cut
by hand, a `smoke test' (hold the letter in candle smoke, then
press it onto paper) is used to check out new dies.